I saw this review on another page. I just have to say that just becuase someone is a writer that dont mean they know shit about what a good review is... Now, can you point out the major fuck up that this guy writes about that nullifies his credibility...
Concerts are supposed to be spectacles on some level.
Whether it's the visceral thrill of bass-heavy acoustics or the razzle-dazzle of back-up dancers, the whole point is to give the audience something they can't get listening to the album at home.
In that respect, what Queensryche attempted Sunday night at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall was admirable. With actors, props and videos, the band did its best to make the show much more than just plugging headphones into an iPod.But somewhere in between the idea of playing both "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" as one big rock opera and the actual execution, something got lost.In attempting too much spectacle, the concert actually took away from the music.After the first few songs, the performance felt less like a concert and more like a really confusing play.Part of the problem was that the story is confusing. It follows the path of Nikki, a junkie hitman controlled by a revolutionary/psychologist Dr. X.The first act finds Nikki meeting a fellow junkie and nun, Sister Mary, falling in love with her and eventually being sentenced to prison for her murder, which he didn't commit. In Act Two, Nikki tracks down Dr. X, kills him and then grapples with thoughts of suicide.But unless you had a pretty good idea of what was going on before the show started, there's no way you would have had a clue what was happening. The actors, who played out their roles in the band's midst, did little other than alternate between wild gesticulation and attempts at looks of desperation.Without the benefit of dialogue, outside of a few snippets that were part of the albums it was up to the songs to tell the story.They didn't in part because of a poor sound mix — at times it was difficult to hear the vocals over the dueling lead guitars — and in part because for the sake of hitting the notes, singer Geoff Tate did a poor job of ennunciating, something crucial for the theatrical aspects of the show.During the second act, he pranced around in a black suit, looking more like a pony-tailed Ricky Gervais (or his sleazy boss character on the BBC's "The Office") than a hitman. Tate's voice, once a pinnicale of metal music's falsetto phase, nowstruggles to hit the notes.Luckily for the audience, the rest of the band played their parts perfectly, though the music — squealing high-pitched guitar runs and double kick drums — sounded dated at best.Guitarists Michael Wilton and Kelly Gray spent most of the three-hour show blasting through incredibly intricate interlaced solos. Bass player Eddie Jackson sang perfect lower harmonies to Tate's high-pitched noisemaking. Drummer Scott Rockenfield's double-kick drum attack kept everyone on task.if it wasn't for all of the pomp getting in the way, it would have been a pretty decentconcert. In fact, the best parts came at the end, after the story was over and the band played a few hits as an encore.There wasn't any canned orchestra music being pumped in for effect, Tate wasn't worried about using his props to full effect, and the songs themselves took center stage.